Mirror Image
by ThomE.Gemcity-06
Summary: Ted had been keeping a secret from the gang, and Marshall is the first to find out when it knocks on the apartment door. !A NEW CHAPTER HAS BEEN ADDED!
1. Mirror Iamge:

**a/n: Okay, a couple of notes: there are some spoilers in here, but I forget the episode names-nothing major though. And Heather is Ted's actuall sister in the show.**

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><p><strong>Mirror Image <strong>

Zach Mosby took a deep breath before his knuckles rapped against the warn wood of the door. He was sure this was where Ted still lived; his older, twin brother by 14-minutes-and-9-seconds. They hadn't seen each other in years, but have spoken on the phone as much as siblings did. This was the last address he had for Ted and he had lost his brother's number when his phone fried so he couldn't call.

He was in New York, so he thought he would pay a visit. Okay, so that wasn't the truth; his wife left him. Before he could get even more depressed, the door in front of him opened.

"Ted?" Marshall said. "Did you lose your key?"

Before Zach could get a word out, Marshall was already sitting back on the couch.

"Uh," Zach stuttered. "...Marshall..?" he tried out hesitantly. Ted had sent him a group picture year back, and he was sure this was Marshall.

"Yes, Ted?" Marshall said patiently as he flicked through the channels on the TV.

"I'm, uh, not Ted." Zach said uncertainly.

Marshall turned and looked at him from top to bottom to top again. "Of course you are,"

"No, I'm not." Zach said truthfully; willing Marshall to understand.

"I am looking right at you, Ted, you can't deny this." Marshall stood from his spot and took a step towards Zach, still in the open door way.

"I'm not denying this, Marshall. But I am not Ted." Zach gave him a very serious look.

"Right," Marshall crossed his arms over his chest. "Who put you up to this, hmm? Was it Barney?"

"No one put me up to this," Zach sighed; who knew it was this difficult to visit ones brother?

"Prove it then," Marshall challenged.

"Fine," Zach excepted, trying to think of something that would prove that he wasn't Ted. "Oh!" he gasped in triumph as he patted his person; trying to find his wallet, that would prove it for sure.

Pulling out his wallet, Zach whipped out his ID and held it out to Marshall.

Marshall took the ID and looked at it thru roughly, he '_hmmed_ and _hawed_', he even developed a contemplation pose.

Finally, he gave his verdict: "Denied,"

"**What**?" Zach exclaimed, grabbing back his ID. "How? This clearly says that I am not Ted Mosby."

"True," Marshall allowed. "But, having the same picture, last name and date? Come on, Ted. Amateur?"

Zach's hands went to his hips in his frustration; he had no idea how else to prove it. "Fine, what other proof do you have that I'm Ted?"

"What other proof do you have that you're not Ted?" Marshall returned.

"_Touché_,"

Zach took a step further into the apartment and he and Marshall started to circle each other slowly.

"Okay, I don't have Ted's butterfly tramp stamp," Zach told Marshall; last time he and Ted had talked, Ted had the tattoo.

"Of course you don't have it," Marshall said. "You got it removed."

Zach cursed; he didn't know that Ted had gotten it removed. Zach held up a finger as a light bulb went off. "Does Ted have this?" he asked as he took off his jacket and threw it on the back off the couch, before he lifted the shirt he was wearing to reveal his chest.

Marshall peered closely at each of Zach's nipple piercing's; it wasn't the traditional ring, but a bar through the nipple instead. To Marshall they looked real enough; he even pocked and pulled at them.

Marshall stood back up, "You are really committed to this, aren't you Ted?"

Zach scowled. "I swear to God that I am not Ted Mosby."

"Fine," Marshall said. "If you are keen on not being Ted, Ted, then we'll see what Lily, Robin and Barney think."

"_Fine_!" Zach yelled before he could stop himself.

Of course they were going to think he was Ted; Zach was his mirror image after all.

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><p>Zach stay close behind Marshall, whose taller frame hide him from view of anyone directly in front. He knew that Ted hadn't told his friends that he was a twin; Zach wasn't in the least bit sad or disappointed. When people find out that you're a twin; they usually compare both together and not really in the good way.<p>

Marshall stopped short, just inside the bars door; this caused Zach to crash into him.

Once Marshall had opened the door, he had looked to their usual booth there he saw: Lily, Robin, Barney . . . and _Ted._ Yes, he had suspected that maybe this really wasn't Ted, and this proved that fact. Ted had been down here this whole time, while he argued with a stranger whether or not he was Ted or not. Marshall couldn't help the blushed that bloomed across his face as he glanced back at Zach.

"So, it would seem that you're not Ted all." Marshall said, still not moving from his spot.

"You don't have to be embarrassed, Marshall." Zach tried to reassure the taller man. "I mean, if I were in your situation I would do exactly what you did."

"_Exactly?_" Marshall asked.

"Well, not to the point of ripping my nipple piercings out. But just below that degree." Zach admitted.

Marshall turned to him, utterly embarrassed. "I feel so embarrassed right now." he admitted before holding out his hand to Zach. "I'm Marshall Erikson and you must be Zach, Ted's brother?"

Zach took Marshall's hand; playing along. "And you would be right."

"_Zach?"_

Both Zach and Marshall looked to see a surprised Ted shoot out of the booth and run towards them. Marshall took a step back just as Ted threw his arms around Zach, who would have fell with the force if it weren't for the brick wall behind him. As Zach caught his breath and wrapped his own arms around Ted, Marshall slid in beside Lily.

"Who's that?" Robin asked, looking at Ted's back, who ever he was hugging obscured by his body.

"Ted's brother," Marshall said.

"Ted has a brother?" Barney asked curious.

"Yup," Marshall nodded.

"How come he never told us?" Lily asked, hurt.

"Maybe it was the same reason that Ted never let Barney meet his sister." Robin said.

The other couldn't help laugh at Barney's expense.

"That's not fair," Barney said, indignant. "I never touched his sister."

"Yeah," Lily agreed, sarcastically. "Just like you never kissed his mom?" Barney's silence was all the answer they needed.

Ted buried his face in Zach's neck, soaking his brother's presence up. He hadn't seen Zach in a year and a half; lots of thing could have happened in that time. He was always closer to Zach than he was to Heather; whether it was because they were twins or that they were brothers, Ted didn't know - it was always just that way. And for a reason he really didn't understand, he never told his friends about Zach, not even Marshall - his best friend since freshmen year. Maybe it was to preserve him, make him Ted's little secret.

Finally, Ted release Zach from his bear hug but still kept in contact. And he just stared. After a minute or so, Ted grabbed his hand and started to pull him toward the booth where the others sat. He pulled two chairs from the next table to the booth so that he and Zach could sit.

Silence met their ears as Lily, Marshall, Robin and Barney looked between the two rapidly.

"Guys," Ted finally said. "This is my brother Zach. And Zach, this is Robin, Barney, Lily and you've met Marshall."

"How come you never told us you had a twin brother, Ted?" Lily asked.

Before Ted could think of an answer, he noticed something off about Zach. Ted grabbed Zach left hand and jerked it up, staring at the naked ring finger. "Zach? Where's your ring?"

Zach just shrugged his shoulder, nonchalant. "Carry left me," he said simply, taking his hand back.

"_What_?" Ted demanded. "Why?"

Zach sighed and looked at the others in the booth; these were Ted's friends so he thought it would be fine. He was already friends with Marshall after all. "I caught her in bed," he paused, slightly embarrassed by this next part. "With another woman. . ."

Barney opened him mouth, his hand raising in the, but a glare of _shut-up-Barney_ from the group made him snap it shut, very much disappointed—how was this not something to high-five about?

Ted put an arm around Zach's shoulders and pulled him close, a comforting gesture. "Forget about her," Ted told Zach confidently. "She didn't deserve you for 4 years."

"I guess your right," Zach smiled as he sat up and grabbed Ted glass full of beer. He finished the glass in five seconds flat.

Marshall whistled. "Wow, you could totally win a contest with that speed."

"Yeah, I'm too old for that stuff." Zach sighed sadly.

"Can't argue there," Marshall agreed; a depressed state about him too.

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><p><strong>Note: Okay, so I've been getting some <em>Story Alerts<em> for this, a decided to satisfy. I recently added another chapter for your reading view.**

**Please review! **


	2. Across the Hall

**a/n: I got a few story alerts for this, so I hope this satisfies.**

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><p><strong>Mirror Image: Across the Hall<strong>

The tenant from across the hall to Ted and Marshall's apartment had moved away quite recently and the apartment was up for rent. Zach took it instantly, having over a time accumulated his things from Ohio, his divorce with his wife not even agreed upon yet.

Zach needed to be near his brother, and knew that he should probably have done this in the first place. But despite the fact that he had moved in across the hall, Zach spent more time at Ted's than not. And because he had yet to find furniture for his apartment, it gave Zach even more reason to stay at Ted's.

Ted had feared to leave his brother alone; not on the fact that Ted thought that Zach would try to kill himself or anything, but on the simple fact that Zach's marriage was ruined and he didn't think that his twin should be alone at a time like this.

And, as if old habits died hard, some night's Zach slept with him in his bed. It wasn't some twin-incestuous-thing or something, but the fact that they used to share beds when they were kids; whether it was because one of them was scared, or on the fact that they were little kids and close brothers—doing everything together.

It was one such night and Zach took great comfort in his brother's presence next to him.

Zach's eyes were closed though he wasn't asleep, tucked under the covers next to a sleeping Ted. It had been about three weeks since he had first come here, and this was the first time he allowed himself to think about past events. He couldn't believe that Carry, his wife for four years, the women he had fallen in love with 5 years prior to that, had cheated on him—_with a women_. Zach couldn't really find it in himself to hate her, or really blame her; who was he to deny her sexual preference?

It was the fact that he knew that it made him look like a failure—and he felt like one too. His wife had cheated on him, which was to say as if he hadn't paid her enough mind and had instead ignored her—but that wasn't true. Zach had thought that they had had a happy marriage; they always went out, their sex-life was never dull, the year before they had even discussed having children.

Zach felt unshed tears build behind his eyes, but he squeezed them away; he promised himself that he wasn't going to cry—he had done that in the motel room that he had gone to after he had found out.

Without realizing it, Zach shifted closer to his brother, trying to draw strength from his relaxed form.

A if sensing him in his sleep, Ted reached out and pulled Zach towards him. His arm wrapped around his brother's waist, and buried his face in Zach's neck. Zach relaxed against him, his eyes slipping closed again; the comfort that Ted provided allowed him to sleep.

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><p>Marshall looked from the TV as one of the Mosby twins came from the bathroom, clad in a pair of blue plaid pajama bottoms and a dark green plain t-shirt. His dark hair was a mess and his feet bare as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes.<p>

Marshall was still founding it slightly hard to tell Zach and Ted apart; they really were identical. Though he had become close with Ted's twin, now considering him a friend, hanging out with him as much as he did the others—but sometime it was still hard to figure out who was who. But Marshall had discovered small mannerisms about both that distinguished them from each other.

But today he found out who this twin was when he saw the twin pause as he stretched; his hands clasped as his arms stretched over and slightly behind his head. The shirt that he was wearing tightened around his chest for a moment and Marshall could make out the faint outlines of each of Zach's bar nipple piercing.

"Good morning, Zach."

Zach smiled at him. "Morning, Marshall."

Zach sat down next to Marshall on the couch, crossing his ankles on the corner of the coffee table. "What are you watching?" he asked.

"_Survivor_," Marshall told him.

"Really?" Zach's brows rose. "Without Lily?"

Marshall laughed, "No way would I chance that; it's a repeat."

Zach nodded his understanding; _Survivor_ was just that type of show.

"Have you found a job yet?" Marshall asked, curious as he stood from the couch to go to the kitchen.

Zach shook his head. "You would think that it would be easy to find a place of employment in New York City, but it's actually pretty difficult."

Marshall came back from the kitchen, a mug of hot coffee in each hand. He gave a cup to Zach, who gave him a thankful smile, before he took his seat next to the twin, taking a sip from his own mug.

"Who could have thought that getting a job as a chef wouldn't come ready to cook." Zach said wryly.

"You'll get there," Marshall assured him, a comforting hand on his shoulder.

Zach grinned at him suddenly. "Do you think that I should dye my hair? I'm thinking blond."

"What?" Marshall said in surprise. "Why?"

"Well, it would be easier to tell us apart." Zack told him, "I know that you don't have much trouble and Lily's getting it, but Barney's clueless and you'd think that because Robin slept with Ted that she would be able to us apart."

"You shouldn't do it just because of us." Marshall told him in concern.

"Well, it's not _just_ because of that." Zach said, the expression suddenly changing to one slightly more depressed. "I figure that some change might do me some good."

"Okay," Marshall nodded and then commenced to look at Zach thoughtfully.

Zach said still under Marshall's securitization, and as the other man grasped his chin and moved his head from side to side, up and down. Finally he released Zach's chin and sat back, his scrutiny done.

"Ted did this once before," Marshall told him, a laughable look crossed Zach's face as he said this. "We said that there should be only one blond in the group, so it was a good thing that Barney was it." he continued, "Ted said that if Barney wasn't a blond that he could be, and so he dyed his hair."

"And?" Zach asked, leaning forward eagerly.

Marshall glanced behind them to Ted's closed bedroom door. "Ted still asleep?"

Zach nodded.

"He did pull it off, and I'm pretty sure that he knew that. It seemed to go to his head though, so we made a plan and got him to rinse the dye out. He was so disappointed . . ."

Zach's nostrils flared lightly as he tried not to laugh. "Bond it is!"

Marshall flashed him a grin.

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><p>Ted stood in the bathroom doorway, looking at the scene before him with something akin to horror?<p>

Zach was bent over the tub lip, and Marshall was bent over him in turn. If Ted didn't know any better, if he didn't know that Marshall was in love and married, and if Zach wasn't his twin brother, he would have thought that this was something other than what it really was. Which Ted had found out when he saw the discarded dye box on the floor by the tub.

"What are you doing?" Ted spoke up, taking a step into the bathroom.

"Welcome to the land of the living," came Zach's muffled greeting.

Marshall rinsed Zach hair, before putting the shower cap over his head. He went to the sink and washed his hands, drying them on the towel, he leaned against the sink as Zach stood from the tub.

"You didn't answer my question." Ted said, looking between the two of them. "Why are you dying your hair?"

"Change," Zach said in a sing-song tone of voice.

"Change for what?" Ted said, instantly awake and aware.

Zach shrugged his shoulders. "Just change in general."

"This isn't because of Carry, is it?" Ted asked, his voice going soft.

"Ted," Zach said, stepping to his brother, a hand on his arm. "Finding Carry with that woman was like a wake-up call; it was like the world saying that it wasn't meant to be. We had just met too early; it wasn't like it is with Marshall and Lily—they're soul mates, me and Carry weren't. It's as simple as that,"

"Zach. . ." Ted trailed off, staring into the familiar brown eyes. He could see the desperation and hurt there, the need for him to understand and the need for his support. Ted pulled his brother into a crushing hug. "Sometimes, change is a good thing." he whispered in agreement.

Zach hugged him back, burying he face in Ted's neck.

Feeling left out and gushy inside from being present for this scene, Marshal came over and wrapped both the Mosby twins in a big ol' bear hug.

Change was okay sometimes.

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><p><strong>note: now this is the end for "Mirror Image" this time, I hoped you were okay with the ending, even though it didn't seem to be as <em>'How I Met Your Mother'<em> as the first one.**

**Please review!**


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